Star Wars Palitoy catalogue page from Hamleys. UK.

Star Wars model kits. Germany.

This 1979 Kenner Germany ad reads “Hello model fans”. It features Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter, the X-Wing Fighter, and our two favourite droids. The photo of the X-Wing vehicle appears to be the electronic toy meant for the 3.75 inch action figures and not the model kit version. It is not uncommon to see vintage Star Wars toy ads substituting certain products with others. My idea is that sometimes the foreign (to US) license holder had to make do with whatever images or products were sent over by parent company Kenner from the US. In other cases we may also catch sight of prototype versions, which were the only images available at the time prior to a toy’s actual release.

In the case of French license holder Miro-Meccano, which in 1981 ran a spectacular “saynettes” ad series, a mixture of toys were used to create perspective. Here we see a small scale die cast X-Wing in the background, with the bigger 3.75 inch action figure Landspeeder in the foreground.

Star Wars Denys Fisher model kits competition. UK.

Return of the Jedi SnapFix models. Airfix. UK.

UK. Hamleys Christmas Book. 1983.

Boots stores model kit products. Airfix. UK.

UK. Eagle. 1983. I remember Star Wars toys being on sale in UK toys shops and newsagents but not in Boots – which is a high street chemist that still exists today. This ad from 1983 shows that Boots did indeed stock some toys, and gives mention to Star Wars.

School stationery prize competition, Helix. UK.

UK. Star Wars Weekly. 1978. The Star Wars Helix brand has always been popular in the UK collecting world, and items can command high prices. One of the most popular and perhaps rarest of Helix items is the Death Star Pencil Sharpener – which is mentioned here as a lowly “runners up prize”. If only we knew back then how desirable those little pencil sharpeners would one day become!

Eagle comics Return of the Jedi sticker album offer. UK.

Eagle comics. UK. 1983.

Eagle comics Return of the Jedi free stickers. UK.

Eagle comics. UK. 1983.

Atari Return of the Jedi Death Star Battle. Parker Brothers. US.

US. Alpha Flight. 1983.

Intellivision and Atari cartridges by Parker Brothers. UK.

UK. Hamleys Christmas Book. 1983.

That’s all for now. Please check out our Star Wars section beneath the banner for the best international Star Wars vintage advertising this side of the galaxy! Thanks for looking!

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